Liquidation: From Big Boss to Bloody Demon Sauce Chapter 37: Chapter 37: The Cost Of Distraction

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Just when it seemed like her barrier would collapse naturally, a massive Ghast lunged forward, breaking straight through the gap and landing directly onto Grimora. The shock caused her to lose concentration entirely, and the rest of the barrier collapsed under the onslaught of the frenzied Ghasts. Panic surged through me just as the swarm of Sulphur Ghasts within the cave made their move to get to the source of the energy. I immediately cursed myself. My own greed had caused this. Summoning all the strength I'd gained from consuming the first crystal, I exploded outwards. My body rushed out as a massive tidal wave of slime, grabbing Grimora just in the nick of time. The rest of my body crashed over and engulfed the front line of the Ghasts. I could feel their crude forms struggling inside of me, pulsing in sync with mine. A steady stream of energy started flowing between us. It was like their very life force was aligning, their acidic bodies instantly drawn into my larger form and broken down. The energy that surged from them gave me a jolt of exhilaration. The richer influx of power was intoxicating, and I felt my form stretch and bend, reforming into a pulsing void that swallowed the remaining Ghasts entirely. The sensation of consuming them alive was both unnerving and exciting, but I didn't have time to dwell on it. As my form retracted and condensed back into a manageable blob, I found Grimora squirming in my grasp. She had turned a frightening, sickly shade of green, and her eyes were glazed over with intense pain. “Master…” she wheezed as she attempted to push herself away from my gelatinous chest. “Don’t move!” I ordered, my voice echoing around the cavern, heavy with guilt. I probed her with my own energy, feeling it seep through her skin and into her blood. A shudder wracked her body at the rush of energy, her panicked breathing slowly calming down to a gentle rhythm. A sense of cold dread washed over me as I realized that the Ghast's sulfuric acid had started eating through her outer layers of flesh, and I was the only thing actively keeping it at bay. More Ghasts sprang out from the walls, far more than the last time, lured by the dispersed energy of their dead brethren. But a sudden, massive surge of power coursed through me. My form expanded upwards to meet the swelling mass of falling Ghasts, catching them mid-air, and I quickly absorbed them all, inflating my bulk even further. Using the renewed energy, I closed in on Grimora, enveloping her whole body, except for her face, into me. My form started working immediately, aggressively cleaning her blood-soaked clothes and neutralizing the burning acid that had seeped into her flesh. "The acid...it burns..." she muttered weakly, her hands clenching onto my slime like a lifeline. I knew I had to do something right away, pushing more of my soothing energy into her wounds, or Grimora might not survive the chemical burns. Finally, the severe pain seemed to recede, and her breathing normalized. Her eyes fluttered open, and she stared at me in a tired stupor. "Master...I...Thank you..." Floating alongside her in the cave, I couldn't help but feel a wave of intense relief wash over me, but it was a short-lived relief. As I focused back on the massive fields of crystals filling the cavern, the real threats of this place loomed into view. Grimora wouldn't be safe until I destroyed all of them, securing our capital and clearing the room. The now-empty cavern was filled with an eerie silence, amplifying every small sound of shifting rock. The price of power was an ever-looming danger, but I was fortunate, as the danger also brought limitless opportunities for me to grow. Splitting a distinct portion of my body off with Grimora, I created a dense, protective barrier around her, essentially encasing her within a gelatinous cocoon. Her task would be to heal and absorb whatever residual magic there was from the crystals after my feeding. "Stay here and absorb any residual energy